PAFA School vs California Institute of the Arts

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) and California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) stand as prominent institutions offering specialized arts education. While both share a commitment to nurturing artistic talent, they diverge in several key aspects. PAFA, rooted in traditional fine arts instruction, boasts a lower acceptance rate and a student body predominantly focused on visual arts. CalArts, on the other hand, embraces a broader spectrum of artistic disciplines, resulting in a higher acceptance rate and a diverse student body pursuing a variety of majors. To delve deeper into these distinctions and discover which institution aligns best with your artistic aspirations, explore the comprehensive comparison table provided on this page.

	California Institute of the Arts	Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Overview
Location	Valencia, California	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	94.0%	84.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	29.0%	83.6%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $60
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	2,364	122
Total number of admissions given out	685	102
Admitted students who chose to enroll	203	10
Yield rate	29.6%	9.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$79,792	$66,804
Average net price	$53,916	$29,925
Tuition	$52,850	$38,926
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,040 Meal plan: $5,095
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $18,119	100.0% Average amount $29,528
Students receiving federal student loan	26.0% Average amount $5,615	61.0% Average amount $5,864
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $12,000	0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	965 Men 41.6% Women 58.4%	121 Men 24.0% Women 76.0%
Graduate students	479 Men 37.2% Women 62.8%	57 Men 21.1% Women 78.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	29.0%	6.7%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	441	37
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Visual & Performing Arts Communications Technology English Language and Literature Computer and Information Science Multidisciplinary Studies	Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	4:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	71.9%	47.2%
Dropout rate	28.1%	33.3%
Transferred out	N/A	16.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $24,469 Year 2: $32,563 Year 3: $36,735 Fine and Studio Arts (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $14,239 Year 2: $23,456 Year 3: $29,527 Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $29,030 Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,555 Year 2: $22,420 Year 3: $28,984 Music (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $17,629 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $28,791 Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,992 Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $22,579 Music (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $15,918 Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $21,662 Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $26,425 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $21,635 Dance (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,773 Year 2: $15,182 Year 3: N/A Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $49,840 Year 3: N/A	Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,722 Year 2: $19,749 Year 3: $28,395 Fine and Studio Arts (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $27,413 Year 2: $22,764 Year 3: $26,502

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PAFA School vs California Institute of the Arts

California Institute of the Arts

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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